FOR HISTORY BUFFS

What made the men who shaped the West tick? If you’ve wondered about the motivations of such complex figures as Daniel Boone, Red Eagle, Davy Crockett, Mangas Coloradas, Kit Carson, Sitting Bull, and Buffalo Bill Cody, historian Paul Andrew Hutton’s sweeping The Undiscovered Country (Dutton) is for you. But do “remember the women,” as Abigail Adams famously said, with Frances Levine’s Crossings: Women on the Santa Fe Trail (University Press of Kansas), a groundbreaking read that follows several unsung pioneers who made the great journey. FURTHER READING: Nasario García draws on his post–World War II childhood in Albuquerque for Martíneztown, 1945 (University of New Mexico Press), a deeply felt collection of linked stories about a boy growing up in the Duke City’s oldest barrio.

FOR NATURE LOVERS

Sit still awhile with The Mountain Knows the Mountain (High Road Books) and you’ll feel the inner peace and outer beauty that author Philip Connors has experienced as a fire watcher in the Gila Wilderness for 23 seasons. FURTHER READING: Priyanka Kumar’s discovery of a wild apple tree near her Santa Fe home inspired The Light Between Apple Trees (Island Press), which follows the fruit’s journey from Kazakhstan to Spanish orchards in the Southwest.

FOR STORY SEEKERS

In Sage Vogel’s debut, Dichos en Nichos (UNM Press), 10 interconnected stories set in a 1950s-era northern New Mexico village offer a vibrant tapestry of culture, wisdom, and art. Inspired by dichos, or folk sayings, in both Spanish and English, and nichos—paintings set in antique cabinet or box frames—the stories and accompanying artwork by the Dixon author’s parents, Christen and Jim Vogel, explore identity, community, and resilience. FURTHER READING: In Badlands (Grand Central Publishing), bestselling collaborators Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child send archaeologist Nora Kelly to the desert to investigate a mysterious death. A search through remote ruins uncovers a supernatural power tied to ancient rituals, challenging her understanding of history—and reality.

From history and fiction to nature writing and children's stories, these picks celebrate the voices of New Mexico.

FOR CREATIVE SPIRITS 

By reviving a lost book by one of New Mexico’s most beloved artists, Thomas Leech and Carmella Padilla have crafted a graceful love letter to the santero tradition. Printing the Spirit: Gustave Baumann’s Santos (Museum of New Mexico Press) updates the manuscript of woodcut saints, a collaboration with writers Mary Austin and Peggy Pond Church, with the wonderfully told story of how it came to be—almost a century later. FURTHER READING: What do Georgia O’Keeffe and Frank Lloyd Wright have in common? Find out in Through the Long Desert (Rizzoli Electa) by Sarah Rovang, which explores what drew these Wisconsinites to seek aesthetic inspiration in the Southwest.

FOR KIDS

Perched in a Gila lookout tower, 12-year-old Opal is learning the family trade: watching for flames. But can she face the smoke spiraling toward the place she calls home? In The Burning Season (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin), Albuquerque author Caroline Starr Rose’s middle-grade novel in verse captures the fierce beauty of New Mexico’s wildest place. FURTHER READING: The picture book Yáadilá! Good Grief! (HarperCollins) by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan/Hidatsa/Tsimshian), with art by Jonathan Nelson (Diné), follows a family through a challenging moving day. Their frustration blossoms into a tender gesture, grounded in Navajo traditions and language.

Curious about the story behind Printing the Spirit? See how Gustave Baumann's long-lost passion project finally came to life.